Good morning ,
- The EUR/USD trade in a very narrow range due to Easter holidays. At presentthe euro is trading at 1.3065 afteryesterdays falling as low as 1.3035.
-Ahead of today’s US job report release, Japan’s Nikkei dropped for thefourth day in a row and registered the worst weekly performance in eightmonths. The revived Eurozone’s debt crisis and no hopes of further USstimulus are marking the week.
-Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average dropped by -0.81% and China’s Shanghai Compositefell by -0.38%, while South Korea’s Kospi was able to stay little above flat,by 0.01%. The Australian market was closed for the day.
-The European markets are closed for the Holy Friday due to Easter . US NFP are to be released at 12:30 GMT.
-Comments from Spain's Finance Minister again renewed some concerns overthe health of the EU debt crisis, even with the Spanish auction several daysearlier, yields continue to be a concern. Fin Min De Guindos : Govt bond spreads at current levels cannot bemaintained for a long time . Spanish and Italian bond yieldscontinued to rise on Thursday, as the broader European equity market declined.Yields on 10-year Spanish government bonds added 5 basis to 5.71%, the highestlevel since December last year .
-US Initial jobless fell 6,000 to 357,000 during the week ended March31. The latest reading of initial jobless claims is not too distant from the25-year median of 345,345. Continuingclaims have dropped during six out of the last eight weeks .
-The Bank of England, as widely expected, left its key lending rateunchanged and made no alterations to its 325 billion pound ($516.8) program ofasset purchases. The central bank’s key lending rate has stood at a record low0.5% since March 2009.
-Japan Econ Min Furukawa: New BoJ members should be decided soon; Meetingbetween PM and BoJ Gov covered areas of close cooperation . Japan Mar officialreserve assets $1.29T vs $1.30T prior (4-month low)
- Major financial names in Chinacontinued to be weaker as China officials continue to talk about reforms to thesystem.
-ANZ economist sees China Q1 GDP at 8.6% and Q2 at 9.0% and expects a cutto the RRR in May or June.
-After the US close Egan-Jones cuts US sovereign rating one notch to AAfrom AA+. Currencies were quiet A$ and NZ$ firming up despite their marketsbeing closed, $1.0316 and $0.8177 respectively.
Have a good day !